6th
Sunday after Trinity

O God, who hast prepared for them that love thee such good things as
pass man's understanding: Pour into our hearts such love toward
thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy
promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ
our Lord.

FAITH
IN FOCUS: MAKING PEACE

Peace is complex matter. We tend to think of it as a
thing, something that can be won or lost, something that brings
about an end to war and terrorism. So we think of peace as a lack of
conflict, a time when we don’t have to worry about those unclaimed
packages on the train, when arrests on suspicion of terrorism are a
thing of the past.

In reality this is not peace; it’s only a type of
truce, because peace can never be the absence of something. It’s
always the presence of something. Peace is not a static situation
where nobody is fighting against anyone else. It is a dynamic thing
which has to be worked for, and then supported and maintained by
justice.

It doesn’t take a genius to know that the peace God
promised through Isaiah two and half thousand years ago has only
been enjoyed for very brief periods. Jerusalem is, of course, the
centre of daily attacks and outrages. Yet God promises to send peace
there like a flowing river. So where is it?

Perhaps we can say two things. The first is that each
of us has to play our part in making peace. We may be tempted to
think that our individual efforts to be peaceful people can have
little effect in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine. Of course,
to a degree this is true. But if everyone worked to make their own
patch of the world a just and peaceful place, then the chance of
global peace would be greater.

The second point is that the Christian Church cannot
simply preach peace, sing about it and lament its absence. We have
to make representations so that just and equitable decisions are
made in our name that affect the lives of others. We have to support
those who are fighting for civil and political structures that
respect the rights of other people. Everyone is in favour of peace,
but we have to work to see that peace does not come at the price of
some people’s rights and freedom.

The peace that Jesus promised is one which the world
cannot give. Yet even the world’s peace is worth fighting for.

WORD OF GOD

For thus says the Lord:

Now towards Jerusalem I send flowing

peace, like a river,

and like a stream in spate

the
glory of the nations.(Isaiah
66: 12)

WORD FOR TODAY

Where is this peace that God promised to send? Either
God has not kept the bargain or we have failed to be bearers of
peace in the circumstances of our daily lives. For peace is not a
thing; peace is peaceful people. And even in the most severe
conflicts peaceful people always end up prevailing.

WHERE
PEOPLE ARE PRAYING FOR PEACE the cause of peace is being
strengthened by their very act of prayer, for they are themselves
becoming immersed in the spirit of peace. (John
Macquarrie)

THERE ARE TWO POWERS: the sword and the spirit. But the
spirit has always vanquished the sword.